News From Mother: Why Grass Fed is Best

(Page 2 of 2)

December 2006/January 2007
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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“A concentrated diet of corn can give a cow acidosis. Unlike our own highly acidic stomachs, the normal pH of a rumen is neutral. Corn renders it acidic, causing a kind of bovine heartburn that in some cases can kill the animal, but usually just makes him sick. … Over time the acids eat away at the rumen wall, allowing bacteria to enter the animal’s bloodstream. These microbes wind up in the liver, where they cause abscesses. … In this new, man-made environment new acid-resistant strains of E. coli, including 0157:H7, have evolved … by acidifying the rumen with corn we’ve broken down one of our food chain’s most important barriers to infection.”

RELATED CONTENT

E. coli 0157:H7 can persist in soils for months, and it moves in runoff from feedlots to contaminate our waterways, where it can be carried into produce fields by flooding. Research also has shown that this deadly bacteria can even be taken up by lettuce and spinach roots and move into the leaves of the plants. In short, because many beef producers have chosen to use this unnatural, inhumane practice, this deadly new bacteria has emerged and now threatens the health of everyone. Yet again we discover too late: It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature.

To learn more, including how this issue connects to larger topics of food production and government farm policies, we highly recommend The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Jo Robinson’s newest book, Pasture Perfect.

— Mother
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